Keys to the Kingdom
By Carolyn Tucker
Pigpen Shenanigans
On the morning of July 5, my son Aaron, daughter Mariam, son-in-law Levi, and I made plans to go car shopping for me. While Mariam attended to the outside morning chores, the rest of us were just shooting the breeze as we waited for her. Pretty soon, Mariam walks into the living room and joins in on our conversation, although she doesn’t take a seat. I was distracted with the idea of shopping and didn’t really think about the unique artistic design on her t-shirt until her husband and brother asked, “Is that mud on your shirt?” “Yes,” she answered. (I don’t think she even rolled her eyes.)
Mariam explained that she’d previously separated the momma pig from the baby pig because it needed to be weaned. Therefore, the sow and boar were together in a separate pigpen and the big-fat baby was in her own pen. However, during the evening of the 4th of July, the baby got scared out of her wits and managed to escape and crawl into the parent’s pigpen. So, Mariam had fallen down in the muddy pigpen trying to grab the baby so she could put her back where she belonged. Needless to say, we spared no high-spirited laughter as she told her pigpen story in detail. Even though we’re a close-knit family, not a one of us had any compassion or sympathy for her!
I love a good story when there’s ample details to envision what’s being told. Many times Jesus used parables to explain life-changing lessons to His listeners. Perhaps one of His most-popular parables was about the “prodigal/lost son” in the Book of Luke. A man had two sons and the younger one wanted his inheritance before his father died. The father agreed and a few days later the son went to a distant country and wasted all his money on wild living. When he ran out of money, a terrible famine hit and he began to starve. He found a farmer who agreed to hire him to feed his pigs. When the young son became so hungry that he wished he could eat the pigs’ bean pods, he finally came to his senses. Welp, better late than never.
“So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’ But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began” (Luke 15:20-24 NLT).
The choices we make can either “make or break” our life. The #1 choice is to choose to follow Jesus. The prodigal son chose to take the money and run from his loving father. This turned out to be a poor choice because the son wasn’t mature enough to wisely handle life. But the good thing is that he later made the right choice to return to the love and care of his father. As long as there’s breath and an ounce of sense, there’s hope in God’s open arms of mercy and forgiveness for our sins and stupid choices. No matter what you or I have done, the Father is waiting and watching for us to come back home.
The Key: It’s not over ‘til the fat piggy sings.